Gothmog (Third Age)
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Image:Gothmog.jpg Gothmog is a fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fictional universe.
He was the lieutenant of Minas Morgul, second-in-command to the Witch-king of Angmar, lord of the Nazgûl. He commanded the forces of Morgul during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields after the Lord of the Nazgûl was slain by Éowyn. This is the only reference in The Lord of the Rings to Gothmog, and his fate is not recorded, although it is strongly implied that he and almost all of the servants of Sauron that fought before the gates of Minas Tirith were destroyed.
Almost nothing is known of Gothmog — not even what race of beings he belonged to. Tolkienists speculate that he might have been one of the Nazgûl, an Orc or a Man (in which case he was probably a Black Númenórean like the Mouth of Sauron, the lieutenant of Barad-dûr). The second most powerful Nazgûl is named by Tolkien in Unfinished Tales as Khamûl, the "Black Easterling," but he is also stated as being assigned to Dol Guldur - leaving open the possibility for another Ringwraith to be second in command at Minas Morgul. That an orc could command so complex an assault also seems unlikely, strengthening the case for Gothmog having been an evil man grown powerful in Sauron's service. It is even possible that while not a Ringwraith, Gothmog was an undead human, similar in some respects to the barrow-wights, although more powerful and with greater capacity for independent action.
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film, Gothmog is played by Lawrence Makoare as an Orc with a misshapen face. It is also possible that he was in fact a Boldog (a fallen Maia in Orc form). Interestingly enough, the film version of Gothmog bears a striking resemblance to the Alien Leader in Jackson's debut film Bad Taste.
In the Special Extended Edition of The Return of the King Aragorn and Gimli kill an injured Gothmog while he is heading towards Éowyn with the intention of killing her, after she has been injured fighting the Witch-king.
In the 1977 SPI board game War of the Ring, he is described as the second-most powerful Nazgûl and chief lieutenant of Minas Morgul (see Minas Ithil) from when the city was taken from Gondor in a two-year siege a millennium prior to the War of the Ring; he is one of only three non-Saruman Dark Power Player characters that can lead armies in this game with a morale rating between that of the Lord of the Nazgûl and the Mouth of Sauron.
Gothmog shares his name with a much earlier character, Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs. The original Gothmog is clearly a different character than the Gothmog of The Lord of the Rings despite sharing the same name. It would seem that the Gothmog of the Third Age had taken, or been given, the name in memory of Morgoth's captain; an interesting choice, perhaps, since Sauron and the Lord of Balrogs were presumably rivals for Morgoth's favour during the Elder Days.